Job 38:3
“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.”
You should never want tragedy to come your way and you not get better through it. Your desire is that tragedy would make Job 23:10 come to life when it says, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” There is no doubt that Job is the perfect picture of turning tragedy into triumph. I see there were five things that Job did that helped him to recover from tragedy and turn it into triumph.
First, if you are going to recover from tragedy you need to get up. One of the first words God said to Job when He addressed him was, “Gird up now thy loins like a man…” God was saying that Job had wallowed long enough in his self-pity and that it was time for him to get up and get going.
Wallowing in tragedy will not help you. I know when tragedy first hits the easiest thing to do is to go into hibernation and hope that you don’t have to see anyone, but that will only make your hardship worse. When tragedy comes, you are purposely going to have to get up every day and live life. You are not the only one who has gone through tragedy, and you still have life to live. So, get up and live life.
Second, if you are going to recover from tragedy you need to look up. For the next several verses, God got Job to look up and see the great God Whom he served. Friend, there is only One Who can truly help you when tragedy comes, and you must look up to see Him. Looking to God is the only thing that will help you come out of tragedy the right way. He is the One Who can help you. When you get up, be sure to look up and see the God Who has the power to help you.
Third, if you are going to recover from tragedy you need to fess up. Job said in Job 40:4, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.” Once Job looked up, he saw what he truly was and he fessed up to God. Part of the reason God allows you to go through tragedy is so that you can get rid of sin so you can “come forth as gold.” You will never fess up until you look up, and you will never look up until you get up. Once you look up and see where your weaknesses are, get them right so that God’s refining process will work.
Fourth, if you are going to recover from tragedy you need to shut up. Look at Job 40:4 again, “I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.” Friend, one of the things we must not do when tragedy comes is to whine and complain about it. You must realize that someone else always has it worse than you. When you whine and gripe about your tragedy, you are only showing others that you don’t have a God Who is powerful enough to help you through it. Praise God instead of whining about your tragedy.
Fifth, if you are going to recover from tragedy you need to pray up. Job 42:10 says, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends:” When going through tragedy you certainly want to pray to God about your heartache, but be sure to pray for others as well. It was when Job prayed for others that God turned the tragedy into triumph. Prayer is the only thing that turns tragedy into triumph. As long as you gripe and complain you cannot turn tragedy around. It will only happen when you pray, for prayer is the tool that engages the forces of Heaven to work on your behalf.
Turning tragedy into triumph starts when you get up. Whatever you face today can certainly be turned into triumph if you will get up and take the next four steps. Don’t let tragedy destroy you, instead take tragedy and turn it into triumph by following these five steps. Let your tragedy become gold to which others can look to for encouragement through their tragedy.